The After Effect
by April1992
Summary: A year after 'Fool Me Once' It's a good thing he made a good enterance because He has the feeling he's the last person she wants to see right now...
1. Chapter 1

**Bonnie/Damon.**

**Takes place after " Fool Me Once" **_**Contains minor spoilers**_**! BE WARNED!**

**Oh, by the way, I don't own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters. Wish I did own Damon though. Damnit!**

**Based off the TV show, not the books btw.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Comments are the greatest thing in the world**

** It's one year after the disaster of the opening tomb. Pearl and Anna left Mystic Falls and never returned. Caroline and Mat are in a super rocky, on and off relationship. Jenna and Alaric are newly engaged. Elena and Stefan are as inseparable as ever. Everything seems perfect except… Damon hasn't been seen since. He just disappeared one night. As for Bonnie, she hasn't been able to use her Powers since Grams died.**

~*~

It was raining by the time Bonnie left the Mystic Grill after her shift. She had started working there a few months ago because it gave her something to do. It kept her mind busy, kept her from the loneliness that had been tugging at her chest lately. She thought she had finally accepted the death of Grams but it still hurt.

She frowned as she pulled her hoodie over her head and wished her car hadn't broken down last Tuesday. The mile walk home was going to be hell. Bonnie hadn't planned on working late but a fellow employee had gotten the stomach flu so she had to cover his shift.

The first few minutes weren't too bad since it was only drizzling but it gradually got heavier until it became a torrential downpour. She felt like crying but instead she just hugged her arms to her body, ducked her head and kept trudging along and feeling like a drowned cat.

"Need a ride?"

Bonnie jumped and looked up. She hadn't heard the sleek silver car drive up alongside her but there it was. She peered at the handsome male driver who slowed his car down to a crawl as she kept walking. He looked nice enough but a gut feeling told her to decline so she shook her head.

"Why not? You're obviously miserable and you look like you're freezing your ass off. I don't mind driving you home or to wherever you're heading."

"I'm fine. Thanks." Bonnie shouted over the wind and began to walk faster. He kept his car at a speed to match hers. Lightning and thunder began overhead.

"Come on. Just get in the car!" His voice was forceful.

"Just leave me alone okay?!" She yelled as she broke out into a run.

The car sped up and swiveled around in front of her, blocking her path. Then, to her horror, the man got out of his car and came at her. She froze in fear for a moment before turning and running but he was faster than her and she felt an arm go around her waist and begin to drag her backwards.

"Let me go!" She put her heels to the asphalt to try and at least slow his effort but he was too strong for her. "Stop! Help! Get off of me!" Her voice was carried off into the wind as she screamed. "Please!" Her heart beat hard against her chest as she heard him struggling to open the trunk with his free hand.

Bonnie swung her legs wildly and felt it connect with his. It didn't do much good so she began to dig her long nails into his arm. He shouted in pain as she began to draw blood. "I said let go!"

"I think you better listen to her otherwise this is going to get real ugly real fast." She froze as she heard the new voice from behind her. She knew that voice. It was one that she would never forget. It was a voice she had never been so glad to hear.

She was suddenly swung around. The man's beefy arm was now around her neck. Bonnie was now looking directly into the newcomer's eyes. The icy, swirly blue that she missed. He looked exactly the same as when she'd last seen him but of course that was to be expected. The rain that was drenching his dark hair and clothes made him look more ominous than usual.

"Are you going to let the girl go or are you going to really be that stupid?"

Apparently he was opting for stupid since the man's grip tightened severely, cutting off Bonnie's oxygen. Spots were beginning to appear in front of her eyes and she began to cry. Damon began to walk toward them.

"Look, don't come any closer. I'll kill her."

Damon shook his head slowly and a smirk played across his lips. "No, you see, I don't actually think you will."

"Try me."

Bonnie began to lose consciousness. "Da-mon. Help."

And just like that Damon disappeared from her sights and the pressure on her windpipe was gone. Bonnie sank to the ground, coughing and wheezing. The lungful of air she sucked in were cold and painful but she was so relieved. She hesitantly turned around and began to immediately back up from the scene. Damon was viciously feeding from the man's neck. Bonnie waited until Damon had finished, wiping his mouth clean on the back of his hand and shoving the body aside before speaking.

"Thank you."

He nodded once without speaking and he got up. He extended a hand to her and when she took it he helped her to her feet. She didn't move as he shrugged out of his leather jacket and walked around behind her and draped it over her shoulder. Bonnie slipped her arms into the sleeves which were too long for her.

Then Bonnie surprised herself, and probably him too, with what she did next. She turned around threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and burying her face deep into his shoulder. After a moment he slowly wrapped his arms around her as well and Bonnie thought…she could have sworn…she felt his lips in her hair as he kissed her head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Bonnie/Damon.**

**Takes place after " Fool Me Once" **_**Contains minor spoilers**_**! BE WARNED!**

**Oh, by the way, I don't own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters. Wish I did own Damon though. Damnit!**

**Based off the TV show, not the books btw.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Comments are the greatest thing in the world**

She looked so small in his jacket, like a child. Damon knew he had to get her out of the rain, he could feel her shivering against him. It took all he had to reach behind him and take her hands from around his neck. She smelled better than he remembered and with such close proximity he could practically hear the blood rushing through her veins. As much as he was sorry for attacking her that night so many months ago he had swore he would get another taste of her blood. Unlike the other humans he had sucked dry he had never tasted anything sweeter than that from Bonnie's delicate neck. He would just prefer it if she were willing the next time; and there _would_ be a next time.

When her arms were safely at her sides he dragged the man's body into the woods. He didn't go far in. He didn't want to leave Bonnie shivering there for too long, humans were susceptible to all sorts of illnesses when they're cold. It really did prove how weak and pathetic they all are. After positioning him behind a bush; Damon wasn't concerned about him moving, he had taken enough blood that the man wouldn't regain consciousness without medical attention; Damon went back to the little witch. She didn't notice his silent approach so he took a moment to observe her. He knew that look on her face, he'd seen it before, the way her mouth was curved showed that she was angry but her eyes showed fear. She reached up to run her hand over that slight neck of hers, drawing his attention once again to her veins and the blood pumping through them.

"Bonnie." She turned to face him, her wide brown eyes fixed on his cold blue ones. "C'mon" He was in front of her before she could blink and scooped her up in his arms before she could protest. "Unless you would rather stay out here…"

She silently reached up and wrapped his arms around his neck and bowed her head, keeping her face out of direct hit of the rain. This surprised him. He was prepared for some snarky response not submission. She had changed since they'd last interacted and though it was making things easier for him it didn't necessarily mean he liked it.

Tucking her close to his body he broke out into a run, keeping to the side roads until he got to the boarding house. Deciding he just didn't have time to undergo 20 questions or a lecture by his little brother he brought Bonnie in through the back entrance and up to an unused room as far away from Stefan's room as possible. He put her down near a couch in the middle of the room and went through a side door to an adjoining bathroom and grabbed a large, soft, white towel out of the cabinet under the sink and brought it out to her. She took it from him, "Thanks." and wrapped it around her shoulders, wiping at her face with one end of it. He watched her as she sat down on the couch and avoided his gaze. "What made you decide to come back after all this time?" She asked in a soft voice. Is that what was bothering her?

"I had to try and go looking for-"

"I know _why_ you left." She cut him off and turned those powerful eyes of hers on him again.

"I gave up looking." Damon confessed. "I realized that if she wanted to be found I would have caught up with her already. Plus," He smirked at her. "I had to come back and see how the gang was holding up without me."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah, okay, sure. Well, we're doing great so thank you for your help. I guess you can go on your way now." Now there was the old Bonnie.

"I _could_ but I just have to ask what, my dear Bonnie, is going on with you?"

She pulled the towel tighter around her shoulders protectively. "What do you mean?"

"Oh you know what I mean. You should have been able to lift his car and drop it on him or set him on fire, since that seems to be your specialty based on all your past threats you've shot at me." He began to walk towards her and she looked down at her lap.

"I can't…I haven't been able to…Damon, I think my powers are gone." Damon sat down next to her as she looked at him sadly from under her thick eyelashes. "I haven't been able to do _anything_! I mean, I've had dreams but they're so vague. Just flashes of random stuff. It's driving me insane! Plus it's mostly of you which means who knows what and- _What are you laughing at?!"_

"We, my young, naive little witch, are connected." He draped his arm over the back of her seat. This was really looking up for him. He'd read up on this stuff before he just didn't think it would happen to him.

"I read about it in a really old grimoire, dated back to the 1400's actually. When did you start with your Powers?"

"The day school started back up again but what does that have to do with-"

"Aaand?" He prompted her.

"The day Stefan rolled into town? What? I don't know?"

"And me! Really? How do you not remember? You hit me with your car!"

"What? No I didn't!"

"Yeah, you did. You were driving Elena to school and you hit me then almost swerved off the road."

"No I didn't! I hit some crow-" Damon smirked as an expression of disbelief dawned on her face. "You were the crow but how?"

He shrugged. "Vampire thing. You should see what I can do with the fog."

"Yeah well that's fascinating. What does this have to do with my Powers or your super old grimoire?"

"You can't use your powers without me." He was saying this like he found it to be the greatest thing in the world. "We're destined to be together."

"What?!" Bonnie jumped up from her seat, the towel falling from her shoulders and onto the floor. "Be serious Damon. If you know what's wrong with my Powers then tell me because damn it this is no time for your ridiculous screwing around!"

"I'm being completely serious. I swear." He wasn't kidding, although he now couldn't keep the growing smile off his face.

"Damon." She said his name like a warning and her fists were curling at her sides. Books flew off the shelves and in his direction.

His hands flew up in front of his face "Could you not do that!? Plus, you're really just proving my point." The books stopped, the ones in midair fell with a thump to the floor. Bonnie looked at the books and Damon in shock and then back again. "If I say 'told you so' will that instigate another attack?"

She didn't respond. She ran her hands through her hair and kept staring at the fallen books. Damon saw how confused she was. He wanted her to see what he was telling her was true. This connection was a rare thing and he liked that he had it with her. He wanted to be needed by her. He got up and stood directly in front of her and waited until she looked up at him before he pressed his lips to hers. He felt her freeze before totally relaxing into it. The kiss seemed to set him on fire. He'd never felt so alive, not even when he was with Katherine. It sent him into a total realization that he was never in love with _her_, just the idea of her. It was so very unlike that with Bonnie. He loved everything she did. The verbal sparring, the softness of her skin, the way she was now wrapping her arms around his neck.

She froze again, just as her hands were winding their way into his hair and disentangled them immediately, forcing her hands back at her sides.

He sighed "What?"

She backed up away from him. "Damon I can't." She backed up. "It's just too much. I have to go." Damon watched as she turned on her heel and fled out the door.

_Give her a minute. _He told himself. _She'll be back._ He heard her running down the stairs and her heartbeat continue to accelerate. _She _has _to come back._

**The Connection – made up by me**

**The Fog Quote – Reused. But I really wanted to. ;]**

**I was going in a totally different direction with this but changed my mind as I was typing haha**

**Hope you like it!!**

**^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Bonnie/Damon.**

**Takes place after " Fool Me Once" **_**Contains minor spoilers**_**! BE WARNED!**

**Oh, by the way, I don't own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters. Wish I did own Damon though. Damnit!**

**Based off the TV show, not the books btw.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Comments are the greatest thing in the world**

**OMG! Love the reviews I've been getting so far! I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO happy you like it so far! Hopefully you continue to like it!**

**This was originally supposed to be only two chapters but the whole Connection Thang made me want to stretch it out a bit farther. =]**

"Elena." Bonnie knocked on the Gilbert's door franticly. "Elena?"

She jumped when Stefan was the one to open the door. Bonnie saw her best friend come down the stairs behind him. Elena made the 'come in' signal with her hand as she said, "Bonnie, what's wrong? What happened?"

"I'm not sure exactly." Stefan moved out the way as Bonnie came into the house. "I'm so confused right now. Um," Bonnie bit her lip and Elena seemed to read her mind.

"Aunt Jenna and Jeremy are both out. It's fine. C'mon." Elena turned and went upstairs and Bonnie and Stefan followed her up to her room.

Elena and Bonnie settled on her bed but Stefan hesitated by the doorway "I can leave, if you'd like."

"Oh! No Stefan, you'd be able to help me actually." Bonnie said. Stefan nodded once and sat himself down on Elena's windowsill. "Have you-" She took a deep breath. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer to her question but she had to ask. "Have you ever heard of a connection?" He looked confused so Bonnie tried to explain. "It's like a bond between a witch and her-" Friend? Boyfriend? Significant other? She couldn't place Damon under any of those categories. It just didn't fit him and she didn't even know what the situation was between him and her exactly. "…another person."

"Oh." Stefan mouth turned up in a slight smile. It reminded Bonnie of Damon's except Stefan's reached his eyes and didn't make you feel as if you were being looked down on or mocked. "Yes actually. I read about it a long time ago."

"He was telling the truth." Bonnie breathed. Her mind reeled. How could this be possible? What was she going to do?

"Who was telling the truth?" Elena asked. "What's this connection you're talking about?"

"It's when the witch encounters her soulmate. She is destined to be with that person. It's rare but when it happens it's permanent. Those two have an unbreakable bond. If they separate it has repercussions on the both of them. They'll both feel like a piece of them is missing and the witch will be unable to perform the simplest form of magic"

"Wow. How did you find out about it Bon? I haven't heard you talk about magic since…" She trailed off. All three of them knew what she was talking about but it wasn't something they brought up.

Since Grams died.

"I know. It was Damon actually." A look of shock passed over Elena and Stefan's face. None of them had even mentioned Damon almost as long as they hadn't mentioned Grams. "He came back. I saw him tonight."

"He found Katherine?" Elena asked. "She's not here with him is she?"

Stefan didn't comment but his expression grew instantly tense.

Bonnie shook her head. "He said he never found her. He gave up looking." Bonnie didn't look at their reactions to _that_ bit of news but instead tilted her head back and sighed. Her body was all tense and she felt the dire need to stretch. She couldn't hear the rain hitting the roof anymore. If it had stopped she may take a quick walk outside.

"Bonnie, what happened to your neck?" Elena sounded horrified and Bonnie sat straight back up. Her slender fingers went to her throat as she turned to face Elena's vanity mirror. Stefan leaned closer and narrowed his eyes in examination. The bruise that was on her windpipe was large but very light. Her hopes of not having to go over _that_ particular part of the evening went right out the window.

"Mm." Stefan nodded once. "Damon-"

"Oh! No!" Bonnie exclaimed before the younger Salvatore brother could jump to the wrong conclusion. "He didn't do this."

"Yes. As twisted as my brother is I couldn't see him doing this to you." Stefan said. "So who did?"

Bonnie looked at him and Elena for a minute before telling them what happened. She started from when she left the grill until Damon draining her attacker. She only left out the parts where he gave her his jacket and she launched herself at him.

Elena wrapped her best friend in a hug and murmured "Thank God for Damon's impeccable timing." Stefan just had a troubled and pensive look on his face.

"There's more to your story." He observed. His eyes studied her face intently. "What happened after that Bonnie?"

She knew she had to tell them. It was unavoidable. They both knew her too well and would never let it go. "It appears to be that Damon is the other half of my witch connection." She tried to say it with as much levity as Damon had when he was telling her about it before. "_We were meant to be together._"

"What?!" Stefan and Elena exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" He asked at the same time she said. "There must be some mistake."

"I thought he was just messing with me but then I used my powers. It was an accident. I was just getting so _frustrated. _It was like I was just starting all over again. I had no control and then- " Bonnie gazed out at the pitch blackness through the window over Stefan's shoulder. "He kissed me. I didn't stop him either, not at first anyway because it felt so right. I kissed him back." She still felt the heat of it rushing through her veins and lingering on her lips. "I knew I shouldn't have but I couldn't help it. At that moment I realized I wanted it too." She put her face in her hands "Oh, I'm so confused."


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own vampire diaries. Nope. Nope. Nope. -- *sad face* =[**

**SORRY!! I've been really busy the past few weeks so this isn't the _best_ chapter but I hope you like it anyway & I'll get the next one out ASAP! It's just I have a 5 page paper due in a few days that I haven't even started yet so I'm in current freak out mode. -_-'**

Damon knew he could have stopped her from leaving. A simple look into her eyes and twist of her will and she would be in his arms, prepared to spend the night with him. Instead he watched her out the window, watched as she ran away from the boarding house and into the calming night storm.

He needed a drink.

"Two for two." He muttered. He left the room to go to his own where a half-full bottle of bourbon on his nightstand. Just where he left it of course. Damon popped open the bottle and drank. The alcohol burned down his throat but didn't rid him of the taste of her.

He would drink until it did.

Damon never liked rejection. It seemed like a cruel twist of fate that that the only women he cared truly and deeply for would treat him in such a way. The little witch was an accident. He'd wondered why he felt the need to come back the second he stepped out of the Mystic Falls town border. The relentless magnetic pull he felt wherever he went, no matter how far he went. He'd always chalked it up to the fact that Elena was here. Katherine's doppelganger. The thought that had remained in the back of his head was: _If something happens to Katherine there was always Elena._

Then the witch. His witch.

It had to be her in danger. It had to be her calling for help.

There are few times he had gotten truly angry. If it hadn't been for the fact she was right there, that she was watching, he would have killed that man in a second. It would have been all too easy.

"_Believe it or not Bonnie, I want to protect you."_ He said oh so long ago. Back then it was just because he needed that damned necklace. She had been a toy just like that Caroline girl except…not. He could never bring himself to compel her even though at times it would've saved him a lot of hell if he did. She intrigued him the way she could be scared or innocent one minute and a fiery ball of determination. It was frustrating. It was amazing. It was Bonnie.

She didn't play games with him like Katherine did. Don't get him wrong, he enjoyed manipulating people just as much as she did but he_ despised_ being on the receiving end. That, coupled with the realization of what he was feeling for Bonnie, he never wished to see her again. He didn't know what he'd do if he did though.

"Really?"

Damon turned to see his brother standing in the doorway and his eyes darkened. He couldn't believe his guard had slipped and he quickly barricaded the thoughts in his mind so his brother could no longer read them. He had to admit he was surprised though. With Stefan's diet he could barely keep up his own walls to his mind much less get past others.

"You tell me how much of that you heard or I will make you regret sneaking up on me brother."

"Just the part about you having feelings for Bonnie. I'm shocked. I figured you had a one track mind where that part of you was concerned." Stefan walked over to him and Damon let him take the bottle out of his hands.

Damon watched Stefan as he took a quick drink from the bottle. "I see this is big news for you. As for Katherine, I'm done with her." As he said it it hit him that that was true. He was done with her. Totally and completely done. He never thought it would happen that he could just let her go like that. When he thought of her he just felt nothing but annoyance

"And Bonnie?" Stefan asked.

"Honestly?" He shrugged and then smirked as he thought of the kiss again. "I don't know."


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this took ages to come out.**

**I JUST finished my last final yesterday.**

**And wrote this up in about 20 min. Sorry if it's not great but I had an idea and I ran with it. Also someone's comment worked its way into my head. Forgot whose it was. I think it may have been a few chapters back actually. Maybe. Can't remember. But THANK YOU. =]**

**I think there is only going to be one or two more chapters to this.**

Bonnie hugged the cardigan closer to her and curled her toes in the wet grass. She liked the feeling of the after rain. It was cool against her skin, moisture seeping into her pores. It cleared her head, helped her think. She really needed a clear head right now. Why was Damon being so-

Maybe he'd been poisoned with something. Something other than vervain. Something that made even the strongest of vampires psychologically unbalanced. That would explain why he kissed her. Maybe she had some too. Her lips still tingled from the kiss. It was the best kind of buzz. She touched the tips of her fingers to her lips and couldn't keep away the faint smile that bubbled up. Oh good _God_ could that man kiss. It made her feel…

"Bonnie?" Her head snapped up to find Elena leaning casually against an oak tree at the edge of the woods.

"What are you doing?" They both asked each other simultaneously and then smiled slightly.

"What is it?" Bonnie asked.

"No, you go first."She pushed herself off the tree and walked up to stand in front of her friend. "I insist."

"Well, you know the thing with," She paused, smiling ad her fingers drifting over her lips again. "the thing with Damon."

"All too well…"

"What?"

"Nothing." Elena waved her hand in dismissal "Go on."

"I think I may actually really like…him…" She was really nervous about telling Elena. She knew her friend would accept it in the end. They had been through a lot, especially in the last year. On the other hand, what she _wasn't_ prepared for was when Elena lifted her hand and slapped her across the face. Bonnie's mouth was slightly agape in shock. The sting seemed to vibrate through her entire body and tears of pain welled up in her eyes. "Ele-

"I am NOT losing both Salvatore brothers!"

"What?" She held her hand to her cheek.

"They were in love with ME first!" She was shouting now. "Stefan, I'm over but Damon? No! He was supposed to chase me! I was going to wait a bit longer and let him come to me. He wasn't supposed to give up!"

The realization hit Bonnie a lot slower than she would like to admit. She was still focused on her face. All the pain was building up."Katherine. You had your chance." She looked the vampire in the eyes and fixed her with a hard look. "You played a game that you shouldn't have. You lost. It was your own-"

She was cut off by another slap to the face.

"No. I haven't lost. Not yet." Bonnie was disturbed by the sly smile that broke out on Katherine's face. Then Bonnie blinked and Katherine was gone. Less than a second later she felt something struck her on the back of the head and she blacked out.

**Yeah, it's a bit short. Sorry.**

**Next one ASAP.**

**REVIEWS MAKE ME A HAPPY CAMPER!**

**3333333**


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